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There are only a handful of states in the entire country that have more than one competing big-time, Power 5 conference football team. Sure, you can point to the Floridas and Texases and Californias of the world, but those states are much more expansive in population than the state of Michigan.
Yet, some 60 miles apart are the University of Michigan and Michigan State University — two institutions and athletic departments that have been at odds with one another since the inception of the latter.
FOX Sports Films, in association with Big Ten Network Originals, delved deep into the rivalry — a hatred that’s regional in variety, as it doesn’t get the same national headlines as The Game vs. Ohio State or like the preeminent in-state rivalry, Auburn vs. Alabama. Divided We Stand, which airs on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 11:00 p.m. EST on FS1, quickly whisks viewers back to how the rivalry started in earnest, what kept it going, and then how it’s only intensified in nature over the course of the past few decades, in both football and basketball.
Of course, for Michigan fans, some of the iconography isn’t pleasing. But to get some first-hand recaps from green and white legend T.J. Duckett on the ‘Spartan Bob’ play that won MSU the game in 2001, or even Wolverines QB Devin Gardner recounting the trials of the 2013-14 games in East Lansing, it makes for incredible storytelling.
Naturally, there’s a lots of incredible moments that also cater to Michigan fans. But when it comes to football, much of the focus is on the era that started with Mark Dantonio taking over the MSU program and the subsequent barbs traded by him and then-Wolverines running back Mike Hart.
While the ‘little brother’ moment might be rehashed somewhat, it doesn’t play as old, sterile news as it could have, given that every year when this game comes up, that moment is replayed like the story just broke. What adds to the moment are the reactions from former Wolverines such as Gardner or Jake Long — who was on that 2007 team.
But the documentary, which clocks in at 44 minutes of viewing time, isn’t solely focused on the football side.
Perhaps the most gripping part came on the basketball side of it all — though football certainly drives the narrative. While new Michigan head coach and Fab Fiver Juwan Howard does make his own talking head appearances, it was a welcome sight to see former head coach John Beilein — albeit weird to see him in Cleveland Cavaliers garb — talking about the rivalry, interspersed with similar moments with MSU’s Tom Izzo. There are two seminal moments with Beilein that showcase when U-M’s basketball program clearly ascended from the decade-long doldrums, including a wonderful teaching moment from Beilein to former forward DeShawn Sims.
The best part, however, was Izzo talking about Beilein after the latter’s surprise heart surgery, and how some things transcend sports rivalries.
MSU might have particular disdain for the ‘little brother’ moniker, and some certainly take exception to it. But moments such as these highlight that there is, indeed, a kindred nature to this rivalry, and that it’s not all about hate or disliking one another. As divided as the two programs are, and forever shall be, the existence of each helps to prop the other up, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Watch the premiere of Divided We Stand on FS1 at 11:00 p.m. EST.
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